Hot water heater

[RichardBartlett]

Originally Posted by EEpro

True but be sure to run on hard water for a week or two if new.

Running salt without a thin protective film of calcium hardness with dissolve your new tank very quickly also.

The added salt issue is a bit of a myth tbf

[mountainjogger]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

Not to sound like a rich ass but never repair a hot water heater over 8yrs old unless you owe a plumber money. Order a new one and get a pro to install it and haul the old one away. It’s only about 30-40% more but it’s new and you’re not just waiting for more things to fail.

Sound advice.

[DonRickles]

The best thing you can do to extend or improve a water heater is, regular maintenance (annually) and flushings...

Hard water will cause a build up in the bottom of the tanks, if allowed it will result in covering the lowest element, making it practically useless. Normal service (Electric heaters) should have both top and bottom elements flushing out the tanks completely, checking the settings on the thermos, AND replacement of the anode rod (located on the hot water outlet side). Most people don't know of these sacrificial rods but they should be changed out as they help the tanks from erosion....

I might guess that a wire is loose or not connected to one of the elements or simply a bad overseas made element.....

[GB-man]

If you guys don’t mind me injecting a second dilemma I have recently bought a lake property that has a well and the HWT is putting out water with a sort of iron smell to it. Also the bath water will initially have a rust color to the water on start up. There is a purification system in place but I need to assess the level of efficacy for that. The cold water smells fine and is potable etc

My assumption is the rods are shot in the HWT and a replacement is in order. Hard water for sure. My brother in law suggests with well water I should reach for a tankless system to avoid the funk of well water sitting in a tank for extended periods. I’ve avoided them in the past because I was happy to trade some efficiency for lower maintenance. This home also runs on propane not NG if it matters.

[EEpro]

If it's natural high in iron like our lake house well water you may want to treat with a peroxide system before your filter and softener.

Seeing iron in the water after a period of non use is pretty normal and may or may not mean the water heater is rusting out if the water itself is high in iron. For me seeing rust in the water after returning from vacation preceded leaking a month later though.

Instant water heater can get clogged and requires maintenance also. It needs massive piping to handle the BTU/hr also. Many homes are not equipped for this.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by GB-man

If you guys don’t mind me injecting a second dilemma I have recently bought a lake property that has a well and the HWT is putting out water with a sort of iron smell to it. Also the bath water will initially have a rust color to the water on start up. There is a purification system in place but I need to assess the level of efficacy for that. The cold water smells fine and is potable etc

My assumption is the rods are shot in the HWT and a replacement is in order. Hard water for sure. My brother in law suggests with well water I should reach for a tankless system to avoid the funk of well water sitting in a tank for extended periods. I’ve avoided them in the past because I was happy to trade some efficiency for lower maintenance. This home also runs on propane not NG if it matters.

When was the last time you flushed the tank?

I have a well that is high iron. We use a whole house iron filter. It’s self flushing like a water softener. The filters have a life cycle. If you are getting iron stains in the toilets it is time for a service call on your iron filter.

Iron in your pipes is normal if you haven’t used them in a while, and they are iron pipes.

Iron in PVC or copper pipes isn’t normal. That could be your hot water tank rusting out. Given it’s not a full time residence, I’d have that looked at to reduce the risk of a leak and water damage.

I don’t know what funk your well water will leave in your water heater that city water wouldn’t also leave. Leaving water idle in your tankless is going to have similar issues. You can stick with a tank system and drain it when you’re not there. That would require shutting off your propane to the heater as well.

[GB-man]

Thanks for the input guys. I just closed on the property a month back and have been doing renovations. As such I have not flushed the tank yet. Also I am seeing some light iron stains in the toilets. Seems like I should look into the filter system in place and consider an iron filtering system if that’s not what already is installed. Also flush the HW tank.